Oliver Postgate: Creator of 'Bagpuss', 'The Clangers' and 'Ivor the Engine' who turned children's television into an art form | The Independent Oliver Postgate: Creator of 'Bagpuss', 'The Clangers' and 'Ivor the Engine' who turned children's television into an art form Wednesday 10 December 2008 00:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Online As the co-creator of the animated programmes Bagpuss, The Clangers, Noggin the Nog, Pogles' Wood and Ivor the Engine, Oliver Postgate was one of a handful of pioneers who turned children's television into an art form and whose legacy is a warm nostalgia felt by grown-ups today. His calm tones were familiar as narrator of the stories, which he wrote himself and were brought to visual reality by the artist and puppeteer Peter Firmin, made by their own independent production company, Smallfilms, and shot in a disused cowshed at Firmin's home in Blean, near Canterbury. Although only 13 episodes of Bagpuss (1974) were made, they were repeated regularly until 1987.

The series topped a 1999 BBC poll as Britain's favourite children's television programme and, earlier this year, the pink-and-white-striped, "saggy, old, cloth cat, baggy and a bit loose at the seams" was voted the best television animal ever. Each programme began with Postgate's familiar, magic words, which awakened the cat from his slumber: "Bagpuss, oh, Bagpuss, Oh, fat, furry cat puss, Wake up and look at this thing that we bring, Wake up, be bright, be golden and light" The cloth cat belonged to a girl called Emily, who had a "shop", Bagpuss and Co, where nothing was for sale. Emily would bring home objects to put in its old-fashioned window, where Bagpuss slept on a cushion until being roused by his owner's voice, stirring him and the other small animals and curiosities into action. In his 2000 memoirs, Seeing Things: an autobiography, Postgate wrote: "From a distance of the 25 years which have passed since we made the Bagpuss films, I have begun to be able to see how they earned that affection.

They are simple, and they are well-founded in a safe place. They are full of fun and, like a good meal, they are rich and satisfying. They also stretch the mind and flex the imagination. And the songs and the pictures are marvellous." Richard Oliver Postgate was born in Hendon, Middlesex, in 1925, cousin of the actress Angela Lansbury and grandson of the pacifist Labour politician George Lansbury. His father, Raymond, was a journalist and novelist who later founded The Good Food Guide, while his mother, Daisy, was a suffragette. After attending Woodstock School and Woodhouse County Secondary School, both in London, Postgate was evacuated to Devon and finished his education at Dartington Hall School. On leaving, he had ambitions to act but was sentenced to a jail term when, as a conscientious objector – like his father – he refused to serve his country during the Second World War. However, he was released after agreeing to become a Red Cross stretcher bearer, eventually in the ruins of Germany. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1948 but never acted professionally and went through various jobs, including photographer and record-sleeve designer.

His interest in animation led him to send an idea to the BBC in 1950 about a card pig that played the violin, but it was rejected. However, seven years later, he was presented with a platform for his talents when he joined the ITV London company Associated-Rediffusion as a stage manager working on children's programmes and creating props for productions including the science series New Horizon. Thinking he could improve on the programmes already being made, Postgate created Alexander the Mouse (1958), about a mouse born to be king, and narrated the 10-minute tales himself. Looking for someone to design the characters and backgrounds, he was introduced to Peter Firmin, then an art-school lecturer, and their 30-year professional partnership began. The animation was brought to life through a crude, new system whereby characters were moved by magnets positioned under the table that acted as their set. After making a further series together, The Journey of Master Ho (1958), a story about a Chinese boy and a water buffalo, aimed at deaf children, Postgate and Firmin started their own company, Smallfilms.

First off the production line, for ITV, was Ivor the Engine (1959-64), about a Welsh steam engine that wanted to sing in a male voice choir. The 32 black-and-white episodes, written, narrated and animated by Postgate and drawn by Firmin, were inspired by the anecdotes of an engine-driver friend of Postgate and his own love for the work of Dylan Thomas. They proved popular with viewers and, a decade after they finished, the BBC revived the stories in 40 colour episodes (1976-77). The pair's first BBC animation was The Saga of Noggin the Nog (1959-65), based on Norse legends and created by Firmin, who drew on his memories of discovering a set of 12th-century Norse chessmen in the British Museum during his days as an art student. ITV had turned down the idea so the pair switched channels. They followed the Noggin stories with The Seal of Neptune (1960), a tale of sea horses in an undersea kingdom, although they were back at the commercial channel with their penguin characters in Pingwings (1961).

Throughout this period, Postgate also worked (1959-63) as an animator on Captain Pugwash, already an established children's favourite on the BBC, based on John Ryan's piratical comic strips and books. However, Postgate and Firmin ran into trouble with their next BBC creation, The Pogles, which they made for the "Watch with Mother" slot in 1965, when the story of two country folk threatened by a witch was deemed too frightening for children. It was screened only once, but the witch was removed and the tale of a family living in the root of a tree was revived for "Watch with Mother" as Pogles' Wood (1966-68). The Postgate-Firmin brand of stop-motion animation had become a firm favourite with children. Its usual formula consisted of Postgate coming up with the programme ideas, writing the scripts, directing them and providing the narration while Firmin was responsible for the set and puppet design.

Postgate recalled: "We would go to the BBC once a year, show them the films we'd made, and they would say, 'Yes, lovely, now what are you going to do next?' We would tell them and they would say, 'That sounds fine. We'll mark it in for 18 months from now,' and we would be given praise and encouragement, and some money in advance, and we'd just go away and do it". The pair's next hit was The Clangers (1969-74), their first colour production, featuring small, pink, knitted, mouse-like creatures who lived on a blue moon, with neighbours who included the Soup Dragon and the Froglets. Then came Bagpuss, before The Saga of Noggin the Nog was revived in colour (1982). Postgate and Firmin also made Tottie: The Story of a Dolls' House (1984), based on Rumer Godden's children's novel, before their final series, Pinny's House (1986), about a race of tiny people. Away from filming, Postgate devoted an increasing amount of time to nuclear disarmament and environmental issues.

His wife, Prudence, died in 1982 and he and his partner, Naomi Linnell, a historian, together painted a 50ft-long, Bayeux-tapestry-style Illumination of the Life and Death of Thomas Becket for a book of the same name (1986). Four years later, he painted a similar work on Christopher Columbus. Last year, Postgate and Firmin were jointly presented with the Action for Children's Arts J.M. Barrie Award "for a lifetime's achievement in delighting children". Postgate was also awarded an honorary degree by the University of Kent in 1987. In October this year, the media company Coolabi bought the licensing and merchandising rights to Bagpuss, Ivor the Engine and The Clangers for £400,000, and declared its intention to revive Bagpuss. Anthony Hayward Richard Oliver Postgate, writer, producer and director: born Hendon, Middlesex 12 April 1925; married 1957 Prudence Myers (died 1982; three sons); died Broadstairs, Kent 8 December 2008.

More about: Bagpuss (TV Series 1974– ) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error A melancholic children's animation from the 'Smallfilms' team of Postgate and Firmin. Bagpuss and his friends are toys in a turn of the century shop for 'found things'. When young Emily ... See full summary » Creators: The mice convince Bagpuss that Emily's latest find - a model of a watermill - takes in breadcrumbs and butter beans and produces chocolate biscuits. Yaffle isn't fooled and reveals it to be a joke. 8.6 Bagpuss and his friends learn of a Chinese wise man, his friends the turtles and his love of solitude. 8.5 Emily brings in a bottle containing pieces of wood. Professor Yaffle says that it is a ship in a bottle, Bagpuss wonders where such a ship would sail. Bagpuss then tells a story about mermaids which ...

8.3 a list of 41 titles created 19 Jan 2012 a list of 22 titles created 16 Jul 2012 a list of 40 titles created 26 Dec 2012 a list of 36 titles created 01 Nov 2013 Search for " Bagpuss " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Popular British children's animation series, repeated almost constantly since 1971. Mr Benn is the ordinary, bowler-hatted office worker who lives in the ordinary suburban street of Festive... See full summary » Stars: Ray Brooks Legendary British children's animation of the early 70s made by the 'Smallfilms' team of Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, this series chronicled the melancholically funny lives of the ... See full summary » Stars: Oliver Postgate The Wombles (TV Series 1973) Animation | Family The misadventures of a fantasy folk community dedicated to cleaning up litter and put it to their own use.

Stars: Bernard Cribbins, Dieter Hallervorden Children's animation from the 'Smallfilms' team of Postgate and Firmin. In the 'top, left hand corner of Wales' runs an archaic railway line staffed by such characters as Jones the Steam ... See full summary » Stars: Olwen Griffiths, Anthony Jackson, Oliver Postgate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X A sequel, of sorts, to Camberwick Green but set in the larger, nearby town of Trumpton. Each episode opens with the town hall clock and ends with the fire brigade band playing. Every show tells the story of one of the townsfolk. Stars: Brian Cant Children's puppet programme featuring music and stories. Stars: Geoffrey Hayes, Roy Skelton, Stanley Bates The long running television series of the Grange Hill Comprehensive School, and the children's everyday lives. Stars: Stuart Organ, Gwyneth Powell, Lee Cornes The misadventures of a little Peruvian bear living in London, UK.

Stars: Michael Hordern, Joel Grey Button Moon (TV Series 1980) Family Mr Spoon and his family live on Junk Planet. He travels in his baked bean tin spaceship across blanket sky to Button Moon. There he meets many strange characters and watches stories unfold on other planets using his telescope. Stars: Robin Parkinson Camberwick Green (TV Series 1966) Animation | Family Iconic British children's animated series set in the fictional, picturesque village of the title. Each episode opens with a character emerging from a music box and they will be the central character of the forthcoming story. Stars: Brian Cant Danger Mouse, the greatest secret agent in the world, must follow Colonel K's orders (and try not to break Professor Squawkencluck's inventions) to foil Baron Greenback's and his henchman Stiletto's plans. Stars: David Jason, Terry Scott, Edward Kelsey The Trap Door (TV Series 1984) Animation | Adventure | Comedy 3D plasticine animation, featuring Berk, a blue creature who lives as servant to the unseen 'Thing Upstairs' in an old dark house. Every time the trap door opens a new adventure begins for ...

See full summary » Stars: William Rushton Edit Storyline A melancholic children's animation from the 'Smallfilms' team of Postgate and Firmin. Bagpuss and his friends are toys in a turn of the century shop for 'found things'. When young Emily brings them a new object, the toys come to life to work out what the strange new thing could possibly be. Written by D.Giddings <darren.giddings@newcastle.ac.uk> 20 February 1974 (UK) See more » Also Known As: Did You Know? Trivia Peter Firmin intended Bagpuss to be a striped marmalade (orange) cat but the company who wove the striped furry cloth had a manufacturing fault and used pink thread instead of orange. This is the origin of Bagpuss the pink striped cat. See more » Quotes [first lines] Narrator : Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a little girl and her name was Emily, and she had a shop. [picture of Emily's shop appears] Narrator : There it is. It was rather an unusual shop because it didn't sell anything.

You see, everything in that shop window was a thing that somebody had once lost, and Emily had found, and brought home to Bagpuss. I am in love with this show! 17 July 2010 | by TheLittleSongbird (United Kingdom) – See all my reviews This is yet another show I loved as a kid, and yet another that has stood the test of time for me. It is surreal, nostalgic and wonderfully simple, and for its time it has top notch production values. And I loved the quirky music, the simple yet delightful story lines, the beautiful introduction to each episode with the narration and the image of Emily closing her shop and the lovely humour. Not to mention the endearing characters such as that cuddly Bagpuss, the mice(who my sisters and I love to imitate), Gabriel the Toad, Professor Yaffle and Madelleine the Rag Doll, and the mellow, soothing tone of Oliver Postgate's(the narrator behind The Clangers, which is every bit as delightful) voice. In conclusion, I love this show, it really takes me back and still delights me in every way. 10/10 Bethany Cox 3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes Oliver Postgate's shows: Bagpuss, The Clangers and beyond | Television & radio | The Guardian Oliver Postgate Oliver Postgate's shows: Bagpuss, The Clangers and beyond The Clangers, Noggin the Nog and Ivor the Engine were just a few of the children's TV shows created by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate, who died yesterday The Clangers: their hollow planet was also inhabited by the Soup Dragon. Photograph: Channel 4 Oliver Postgate Oliver Postgate's shows: Bagpuss, The Clangers and beyond The Clangers, Noggin the Nog and Ivor the Engine were just a few of the children's TV shows created by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate, who died yesterday Tuesday 9 December 2008 06.12 EST First published on Tuesday 9 December 2008 06.12 EST This article is 8 years old Noggin the Nog Based around a simple prince called Noggin, Noggin the Nog was created by Peter Firmin in 1959.

He showed the finished story to Postgate , who fell for the characters and set about scripting the story. Noggin the Nog was commissioned by the BBC as six 10-minute animated films produced by Postgate and drawn by Firmin, with music by Vernon Elliott and narration by Postgate and Ronnie Stevens. Noggin's heyday lasted from his creation through to the mid-1970s. The show was revived by some colour versions in 1980 and since then there have been reprints of books, issues of audio cassettes, videos and repeats on Channel 4 in the mid-1990s. Ivor the Engine Ivor was first made as a set of six black and white films for ITV company Associated Rediffusion Ltd in 1959, which was followed by 26 more in the following four years. In 1975, they were remade in colour for the BBC as a set of 40 five-minute films. Ivor the Engine was the first production of Smallfilms, the company set up by Postgate and Firmin.

Featuring the adventures of a small green locomotive in Wales, it was animated using cardboard cutouts painted with watercolours. Pingwings This series starred a family of penguin-like creatures who lived at the back of a barn on Berrydown Farm in the early 1960s. Eighteen single-frame puppet films were made about them. The characters were knitted by Firmin's sister, Gloria, and the series was filmed on 16mm black and white film. Pogles' Wood The Pogles were quiet country folk who lived in the root of a tree and were made up of four main characters: Mr Pogle, Mrs Pogle, Pippin and his playmate, a rabbit-type creature called Tog. The animated series was screened by the BBC between 1966 and 1968 as part of the Watch with Mother series. The Clangers When colour came to television in the late 1960s, the BBC asked for a set of films which were modern and colourful.

Faced with such a request, Postgate and Firmin devised the Clangers, with the first episode being broadcast by the BBC in November 1969 - the year man landed on the moon. A further 25 episodes were screened between then and 1972, with the final Clangers programme screened as an election special in October 1974. The classic series featured small bright pink, long-nosed, mouse-shaped creatures who lived in peace on, and inside, a small, hollow planet and communicated in high-pitched whistles. Bagpuss Bagpuss. Photograph: BBC Only 13 episodes were made in 1974 for the BBC of this much-loved programme featuring an "old, saggy cloth cat" as its title character. The programmes were made using a stop-frame animation and always started through a series of sepia photographs. Viewers are told of a little girl called Emily, played by Postgate's creative partner Peter Firmin's daughter, who owned a shop which did not sell anything. · To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857.

For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 7278 2332. · If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Bagpuss and Ivor creator dies Bagpuss and Ivor creator dies Advertisement Bagpuss was one of Oliver Postgate's best-loved creations Bagpuss creator Oliver Postgate has died aged 83, his family has confirmed. Postgate, who lived in Kent, created some of the best-loved children's TV series including Ivor the Engine, the Clangers and Noggin the Nog. His work, screened on the BBC and ITV from the 1950s to the present day, was often in collaboration with the artist and puppeteer Peter Firmin. In a poll earlier this year, Bagpuss, a saggy pink cloth cat, was voted the best TV animal of all-time. Postgate's partner, Naomi Linnell, confirmed he died at a nursing home near his home in Broadstairs in Kent on Monday.

Oliver said it himself, he was always a little boy Sandra Kerr, colleague of Oliver Postgate Friend and colleague, Sandra Kerr, has been paying tribute to "a creative and eccentric talent". Ms Kerr, the voice of the mice in Bagpuss, said they had so much fun working together, their giggles can be heard on the Bagpuss soundtrack. Asked where his inspiration came from, she said: "Oliver said it himself, he was always a little boy. "He and Peter just responded to that part of themselves they had never lost." Conservative leader David Cameron told BBC Radio 5 Live that Ivor the Engine was his favourite of Postgate and Firmin's characters. "I never really got the Clangers," he added. "My wife's a big Clangers fan - I never quite got that in the same way." Oliver Postgate created many much-loved children's TV programmes Postgate's work was popular with generations of children who loved the strangeness of the characters and the warmth of his story-telling. The short animated films, which he would script and narrate, were created by Smallfilms production company, set up with Firmin.

The partners worked in a makeshift studio in a disused cowshed in Kent on a tiny budget often using home-made equipment. Ivor the Engine, a series for ITV about a little Welsh steam engine who wanted to sing in a choir, was their first creation. The 1960s BBC series of Noggin the Nog about a baby-faced king of the race of Nogs followed. The pair swiftly established themselves as reliable purveyors of children's entertainment, in the days when there were just two channels and children's television occupied a privileged teatime slot.

'Praise and encouragement' Describing the commissioning process, Postgate said: "We would go to the BBC once a year, show them the films we'd made, and they would say, 'Yes, lovely, now what are you going to do next?'" Exhibition Review: The Clangers, Bagpuss and Co at the Museum of Childhood – 19th March to 9th October 2016 « London Visitors Let us guide you around the sights and sounds of London Town Search Search Home » Exhibitions » Exhibition Review: The Clangers, Bagpuss and Co at the Museum of Childhood – 19th March to 9th October 2016 Exhibition Review: The Clangers, Bagpuss and Co at the Museum of Childhood – 19th March to 9th October 2016 The story behind some of the most popular children’s television characters is explored in a new exhibition at the V&A Museum of Childhood. The exhibition is entitled The Clangers, Bagpuss & Co and is the first major retrospective of Smallfilms, the production company which was created by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin.

Smallfilms was based in Kent and all the filming took place in a barn and an adapted pigsty. This setting allowed Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin to create imaginary worlds that would captivate children for the next 50 years. The sheer ingenuity of Smallfilms is illustrated by the original puppets, archive footage, sets and storyboards, photos, scripts and filming equipment. Visitors will be amazed with Oliver Postgate’s stop-motion film camera, adapted using a small motor and bits of Meccano. For all the mechanical ingenuity, it was the quirky and inventive stories in programmes like Bagpuss, The Clangers, Pogles Wood, Noggin the Nog and Ivor the Engine that captivated millions of children all around the world. With modern animation employing hundreds of workers, Smallfilms illustrated what could be achieved on a low-budget with Oliver Postgate (writer, animator and narrator) and Peter Firmin (modelmaker and illustrator) undertaking many different roles. It was the ability to control all aspects of the filming that enabled the concepts to be bought to life.

Ivor the Engine and Noggin the Nog began in 1959, followed by Pingswings in 1961, Pogle’s Wood in 1966, The Clangers in 1969 and Bagpuss in 1974. Even when no new episodes were made, the shows were endlessly repeated. In 2015, a new version of The Clangers was produced that introduced the small aliens to a new generation. Of all the series, it could argued that Bagpuss was the most popular coming top of a 1999 BBC poll to find the favourite children’s programme. The old cloth cat and his entertaining friends have pride of place in the exhibition which even features the dress worn by Emily who owned Bagpuss in the programme. Emily was played by Emily Firmin, the daughter of illustrator Peter Firmin. A trip to the wonderful V&A Museum of Childhood is quite nostalgic for grown ups and this small but fascinating free exhibition is sure to bring back happy memories for many visitors. In the times before computer graphics, it was the ingenuity of the animators like Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin that created small imaginary worlds that were watched by millions.

Smallfilms may have been a very small enterprise but they conquered the world of children’s television for decades. Visiting London Guide Rating – Highly Recommended For more information, visit the V&A Museum of Childhood website here London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London. Since our launch in January 2014 , we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated. We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more. There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog. To find out more visit the website here Share this: Oliver Postgate: Ivor, Bagpuss and me | Television & radio | The Guardian Oliver Postgate Oliver Postgate: Ivor, Bagpuss and me Oliver Postgate delighted children with his charming TV characters.

To mark the first anniversary of his death, Nick Park and Stephen Fry pay tribute – and we reveal previously unseen drawings of his lovable aliens, the Clangers 'During bouts of childhood theism, I always supposed that if God had a voice, it would be that of Oliver Postgate.' Picture: © Peter Firmin Stephen Fry and Nick Park Friday 27 November 2009 19.11 EST First published on Friday 27 November 2009 19.11 EST Close Stephen Fry There is a period from early middle age onwards when one is prone to become nostalgic about the childhood brand of sweets one ate in the playground and the kind of toys one played with in the bedroom: ooh, those Spangles, foaming shrimps and flying saucers; aah, Mouse Trap , Etch A Sketch and Slinky .

We remember, too, the intensity of concentration and ecstasy with which we watched television during what my generation is convinced was the Golden Age of children's broadcasting: Rentaghost , Robinson Crusoe , Blue Peter and – above all – the masterpieces of Oliver Postgate , Pogles' Wood , Noggin The Nog , The Clangers , Bagpuss and Ivor The Engine . From today's perspective, when the smallest amount of success is recognised with instant celebrity and riches, it seems extraordinary that Postgate and his partner at Smallfilms, Peter Firmin , could have penetrated, stimulated and entranced the minds and imaginations of so many children and yet have remained relatively anonymous. From what I know of Postgate, riches and celebrity were never his goal. The story of how he and Firmin started Smallfilms and began their 30-year journey as storytellers has been well told by Postgate. Few of his early contemporaries might have guessed that he would become a children's writer, puppeteer, artist and narrator; even fewer would have guessed that his career would provide such a contribution to the richness, comity and joy of Britain.

He was either too modest or too unaware of the reach and importance of his programmes ever to vaunt his achievements, but they were inestimable. The levels of charm, narrative pleasure, characterisation, wit and lack of condescension apparent in all of Postgate's work were rare enough then; today they are all but extinct. During bouts of childhood theism, I always supposed that if God had a voice, it would be that of Oliver Postgate, the same matchless blend of authority, kindliness and humour. And if Oliver was God, then we were all inhabitants of the planet "far, far away where the Clangers live", where we could also find the Soup Dragon , Noggin, Olaf the Lofty , Ivor, Professor Yaffle and Jones the Steam , not to mention that "old, saggy cloth cat, baggy, and a bit loose at the seams", who starred in what was voted the best children's programme of all time in a 1999 poll.

There are all kinds of ways of thinking about service: there is the kind Oliver never had truck with, military service, but, as he proved throughout his long life, it is possible to serve your country by inspiring its children and enriching its culture. There may be no medals struck for that, but there is the award of the love and gratitude of millions. • This is an edited extract from Stephen Fry's foreword to Seeing Things: A Memoir, by Oliver Postgate, published by Canongate at £16.99. To order a copy for £15.99, inc UK p&p, go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop , or call 0330 333 6846. 'It's only now, a year after Oliver's death, that we're coming to realise what an impact he and his partner Peter Fermin had.' Picture: © Peter Firmin Nick Park Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin came to my studio a couple of times, and once they brought some of the original Clangers puppets with them. They let me hold one, and I managed to drop it: I dropped a Clanger, literally.

I'm sure I told him, those times he visited, how much his work had influenced me as an animator. I grew up with Oliver and Peter. As a child, Watch With Mother was the highlight of my day. You never knew which one it would be – Bagpuss, The Clangers or Noggin The Nog – but it was always a treat. What struck me was the atmosphere of the programmes, their charm and sense of warmth. Then there was Postgate's delivery: heart-warming, mysterious, a great storytelling voice. I grew up in the world he ­ created; it was a nice place to grow up. I longed to be able to tell stories in that way. My mother was a seamstress and I started making my own puppets from bobbins and scraps of material. I had my own little studios in the attic and garden shed where I would make my films. You can see the influence of the Clangers in those early puppets, and particularly of Pogles' Wood. It was Postgate's programmes that made me think I could do it myself.

It wasn't about style and slickness; their puppets didn't move smoothly, the animation wasn't sophisticated, but it was authentic and there was a streak of creativity that ran through everything he produced. In those days, I thought of my films as a hobby. I didn't think I could be an animator – a kid like me, from Preston. It seemed so many miles away from Hollywood or television. Even after I left school, at 16, to take an art foundation course, I still thought of my films as something separate from that. I enjoyed working on them too much, they were entertaining – surely they couldn't be art. I don't think Oliver was aware of the influence he and Peter had on a generation of artists and animators. Like a lot of artists, they just did what they did. And because their work was always in the children's slot, it has probably been underestimated. It is only now, a year after Oliver's death, that we're coming to realise what a great impact they've had. After art school, when I started working on my own characters and ideas, I always had their work in the background.

I'd seen lots of Disney films and other sophisticated animation, but there was nothing in those I aspired to. Oliver and Peter's work was instantly accessible. There was a British eccentricity that reflected the way they worked: like two inventors who had to do everything themselves, building their own equipment and using their own techniques in a painstaking way. Their works had onion skins: layers of meaning for different age groups. Sometimes, on the Clangers, when the puppets were on their own little planet, they would get news of the day's politics from earth. It's a quality I've tried to achieve in my films, that resonance, although it's also something that often comes naturally to adult animators. It takes so long, animation, you've got to keep yourself entertained. I was very saddened by Oliver's death; by the loss to British animation. In the Wallace & Gromit Christmas special last year, I built in a reference to him. When Piella, Wallace's evil new love interest, throws out Gromit's belongings, one of his oldest toys, a Bagpuss doll, is rescued. I'm sure his influence will continue to show in my work.

I still aspire somehow to capture the quirkiness, the humour and that elusive quality of authenticity in everything I do . • Nick Park is the creator of Wallace & Gromit. BFI Screenonline: Smallfilms The creators of Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine, Bagpuss and the Clangers Oliver Postgate was a would-be inventor, toymaker, actor, craftsman and shop window dresser who turned to children's storytelling in the hope it would offer him a proper career. His first animated television series was Alexander the Mouse in 1958. Looking for an illustrator he was introduced to an art school lecturer called Peter Firmin , beginning a partnership that would last almost thirty years. The pair worked on tiny budgets, using secondhand equipment adapted with Meccano and string by Postgate , in a studio set up in an old cowshed.

Several series sprang from this partnership, usually written, narrated and animated by Postgate using drawings and designs from Firmin Children's favourite Oliver Postgate, creator of The Clangers and Bagpuss, dies at the age of 83 | Daily Mail Online Children's favourite Oliver Postgate, creator of The Clangers and Bagpuss, dies at the age of 83 Oliver Postgate, the creator of children's TV favourites The Clangers and Bagpuss, has died at the age of 83. The film-maker was also behind classics such as Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine and Pingwings. As the narrator to all of his films, Mr Postgate's voice is familiar to generations of British children. His programmes were screened on the BBC and ITV from 1957 right up to the present day. Oliver Postgate with one of his most famous creations, the Clangers and the friendly soup dragon Mr Postgate's creations were made by Smallfilms, the company he set up with the artist and puppeteer Peter Firmin. His partner, Naomi Linnell, confirmed that he passed away at a nursing home near his home in Broadstairs in Kent on yesterday.

Friend and colleague, Sandra Kerr, paid tribute to his work. Ms Kerr, the voice of the mice in Bagpuss, told Radio 4's Today programme they had so much fun working together, their giggles can be heard on the Bagpuss soundtrack. Asked where his inspiration came from, she said: 'Oliver said it himself, he was always a little boy. 'He and Peter just responded to that part of themselves they had never lost.' The first episode of The Clangers was broadcast on the BBC in November 1969. Postgate with his most loved creation, the saggy, old cloth cat Bagpuss A further 25 episodes were made and a final election special was screened in October 1974. Postgate did their voices with a Swanee whistle, after he had written out every word of the script. The original dialogue was virtually indecipherable, which didn't stop Postgate getting into trouble when a BBC executive correctly divined that for one clanger he'd written the line: 'Oh sod it, the bloody thing won't open.' The stop-motion animated series featured a number of small, pink creatures who spoke in whistles and lived in harmony on a small planet.

Only 13 episodes of Bagpuss were made in 1974, but the pink 'saggy, old, cloth cat' was regularly screened until 1987 and remains fondly remembered. Bagpuss presided over a shop dedicated to mending things. Each episode featured a different object, along with a ragdoll, a pompous mechanical bird called Professor Yaffle (whose catchphrase was 'fiddlesticks and flapdoodle!') and a bunch of industrious mice who did most of the repair work. Postgate did the clangers voices with a Swanee whistle, after he had written out every word of the script Earlier this year, Bagpuss was voted Britain's best-loved children's television character. Mr Postgate was born in Hendon, Middlesex. His father was Raymond Postgate and his mother Daisy Lansbury, making him the cousin of actress Angela Lansbury and grandson of Labour politician, George Lansbury. He wanted to attend drama school, but when World War II broke out he became a conscientious objector, for which he was sentenced to a term in jail. He avoided serving his full sentence by agreeing to become a Red Cross stretcher bearer, latterly serving in Germany.

On returning to Britain, he attended drama school, but ended up drifting through a number of different jobs. In 1957, Postgate was appointed a stage manager with Associated-Rediffusion, which then held the television franchise for London. Attached to the children's programming section, he thought he could do better with the relatively low budgets of the then black and white television productions. Postgate wrote Alexander the Mouse, a story about a mouse born to be king. Using an Irish-produced magnetic system on which animated characters were attached to a painted background, he persuaded Firmin to create the background scenes. Postgate later recalled they undertook around 26 of these programs live to air. After the relative success of Alexander the Mouse, Postgate agreed a deal to make the next series on film, for a budget of £175 per program. Making a stop-motion animation table on his bedroom, he wrote the Chinese story The Journey of Master Ho which was intended for deaf children, a distinct advantage in that this form of production required no soundtrack and hence reduced costs. Its success provided the foundation for Postgate and Firmin to start up their own company solely producing animated children's programmes.

Setting up Smallfilms in a disused cowshed at Firmin's home in Blean near Canterbury, Kent. Ivor The Engine was originally broadcast in black and white in 1959 before being revived in colour between 1975 and 1977 Based on concepts which mostly originated with Postgate, while Firmin did the artwork and built the models; Postgate wrote the scripts, did the stop motion filming and many of the voices. Smallfilms was able to produce two minutes of film a day, ten times as much as a conventional animation studio, with Postgate moving the cardboard pieces himself, and working his 16mm camera frame-by-frame with a home-made clicker. They started in 1959 with Ivor the Engine, a series for ITV about a Welsh steam engine who wanted to sing in a choir. Based on Postgate's wartime encounter with Welshman Denzyl Ellis, who used to be the fireman on the Royal Scot, it was remade in colour for the BBC in the 1970s.

This was followed by Noggin the Nog for the BBC, which established Smallfilms as a safe and reliable pair of hands to produce children's entertainment, when there were only two UK television channels. Bagpuss was arguably Mr Postgate's most famous creation. Thirteen episodes of the show were made in 1974, but were regularly screened until 1987 Postgate later described the 'gentlemanly and rather innocent' way of securing commissions: He said: 'We would go to the BBC once a year, show them the films we'd made, and they would say, "Yes, lovely, now what are you going to do next?" 'We would tell them, and they would say: "That sounds fine, we'll mark it in for eighteen months from now", and we would be given praise and encouragement and some money in advance, and we'd just go away and do it.' In 1957, Mr Postgate married Prudence Myers, becoming stepfather to her three children, and the couple later had twins and another son. Mrs Myers died in 1982.

An active figure in the anti-nuclear campaign during the 1970s and 1980s, Mr Postgate was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Kent in 1987. His autobiography, Seeing Things, was published in 2000 in which he charted his life from childhood to frustrated writer, political activist and inventor. Mr Postgate made his last film in 1987. In October this year, the rights to many of his creations, including Bagpuss, The Clangers and Ivor the Engine, were acquired by media company Coolabi in a £400,000 deal. Noggin The Nog originally ran from 1959 to 1965 before making a six-episode comeback in 1979 Watch The Intruder, an episode from the first series of The Clangers: Watch the classic Bagpuss opening credits here:

Question: Which television scriptwriter created the children's programmes 'The Clangers', 'Ivor the Engine' and 'Bagpuss'?
Answer: OLIVER POSTGATE